Slenders Lotte, Tessels Daniëlle E, van der Laan Sander W, Pasterkamp Gerard, Mokry Michal
Central Diagnostics Laboratory, University Medical Center Utrecht, University Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands.
Laboratory of Experimental Cardiology, Department of Cardiology, University Medical Center Utrecht, University Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands.
Front Cardiovasc Med. 2022 Feb 8;9:826103. doi: 10.3389/fcvm.2022.826103. eCollection 2022.
Atherosclerosis still is the primary cause of death worldwide. Our characterization of the atherosclerotic lesion is mainly rooted in definitions based on pathological descriptions. We often speak in absolutes regarding plaque phenotypes: vulnerable vs. stable plaques or plaque rupture vs. plaque erosion. By focusing on these concepts, we may have oversimplified the atherosclerotic disease and its mechanisms. The widely used definitions of pathology-based plaque phenotypes can be fine-tuned with observations made with various -omics techniques. Recent advancements in single-cell transcriptomics provide the opportunity to characterize the cellular composition of the atherosclerotic plaque. This additional layer of information facilitates the in-depth characterization of the atherosclerotic plaque. In this review, we discuss the impact that single-cell transcriptomics may exert on our current understanding of atherosclerosis.
动脉粥样硬化仍然是全球主要的死亡原因。我们对动脉粥样硬化病变的描述主要基于病理学描述的定义。我们常常绝对地谈论斑块表型：易损斑块与稳定斑块，或者斑块破裂与斑块侵蚀。通过关注这些概念，我们可能过度简化了动脉粥样硬化疾病及其机制。基于病理学的斑块表型的广泛使用定义可以通过各种组学技术的观察结果进行微调。单细胞转录组学的最新进展为表征动脉粥样硬化斑块的细胞组成提供了机会。这一额外的信息层面有助于深入表征动脉粥样硬化斑块。在这篇综述中，我们讨论单细胞转录组学可能对我们目前对动脉粥样硬化的理解产生的影响。
